Letter 77 - Rough Week

Well, here we are again. A week that has flown by. A lot has happened these past seven days, some good, some not so good.

I guess I'll start with the more unfortunate side of things... Our investigator Aris, who was SO excited for his baptism on Saturday, unfortunately was not able to see it through. He told his family about it for the first time this past week, and they very munched opposed his baptism. He feels awful, and so do we. He still loves the Gospel, and we are grateful for that. Elder Carns and I are doing our best to reach out to him in love and provide comfort at this trying time. I think his family's reacton had quite an effect on him, and we hope that his faith and already strong trstimony isnt effected as a result. We have some fun thungs planned to do with him this week to cheer him up and show our love for him, and more importantly, Heavenly Father's love for him. That knowledge is more important than anything else! We are praying for him and his family, and we would welcome your prayers as well. 

Also, we visited with our other investigator Lisa this past week. Lisa is a good lady, and loves the Bible. We are trying to help her get more of a testimony in the Book of Mormon, but it is at times very hard to tell of her intentions to meeting with us. I get pretty frustrated at our last lesson with her, I must admit, and it wasn't my proudest moment as a missionary. I need to be more patient with her as she comes to terms with a Book she isn't familiar with. I guess I just really love the Book of Mormon and know the power that comes from it. I finished reading it this week, and I love being able to take on Moroni's promise each time I finish. It's a real blessing to me.

Anyway, the rest of the week got much better. We went on exchanges with our Zone Leaders and the Assistants to the President. I was with Elder Ballard to start our week, and we had a good day of finding in the Spanish area where he serves. He taught me a lot about planning and making studies specific to those we teach to help in their progression. I was then with Elder Peterson later in the week serving in the Oakland 9th Ward. We taught more lessons in a single day than I thought possible! I had some great experiences with him, learning so much about effective time use and teaching to people's needs. It was easily one of the best and most effective days on my mission. I am grateful for the good example of leaders who love and support us. I aspire to be like them.

Elder Carns and I are still very much in the finding process. We've had some fun this week, though, singing up at the temple and at baptisms, and trying to find opportunities for service. Big news for our Branch is that the Presidency was reorganized! We are excited to have Pres. Gallagher working at the head of everything right now. He is a return missionary who served in Taiwan, and he was serving as the 2nd Counselor when I first came to Oakland. It'll be nice, and I hope will spark some big changes for our small branch. 

Exciting times are ahead, for sure. Summer is just around the corner and we are looking forward to that.

I love you all. 

I miss you all!

I know that this gospel is true. Sometimes roadblocks come up that we may not understand or even see coming, but that bus when we need to have faith that all things work together for our good I need to do a better job at remembering that sometimes.

我爱你们!

耶稣基督活着! 

加油!!

Elder Butters/包长老

A Return To Union City!

This is Sister Su from Union City.  Benjamin returned to Union City to perform a baptismal interview in the 3rd Branch that he served in over a year ago.  Sister Su was in the congregation and they both realized that exactly one year ago on this day, April 22, 2017, Sister Su had been baptized by Benjamin!  A special reunion for the two of them on this year anniversary of her decision!

These people were Benjamin's first mission friends and church family. A wonderful reunion for all of them.

Letter 76 - Spring!

各位早安!

These weeks just keep going and going and going. Oakland is a great place to be,  especially now that Spring is bringing in warmer temperatures and clearer days.We had a busy week here.

We're primarily busy preparing for Aris's baptism on Saturday! It's exciting, but coordination with the sister missionaries serving in his new ward has been a bit of a hassle. I will be grateful to see everything culminate on Saturday. We taught him a lesson on the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and he showed us he has very sound doctrinal understanding through answering our questions. We hope he understands the power of repentance. Ive learned kn my mission how important that principle is, and that its given to us for our benefit. Im grateful fkr the chamce we have to change and improve each day. We hope Aris now understands it a little more as well. Saturday will be a great day for all of us.

We also met with Lisa Sun, and we taught her The Plan of Salvation. She loves the scriptures, so we taught her each point in the lesson using a different verse in the Book of Mormon. She really seemed to connect more to the discussion, and she really enjoyed the lesson. She had a lot of questions about The Fall, and we were able to help her to realize why it's a positive thing. God needed his children to understand What it was like to disobey Him, so that they could experience the sorrow and guilt that comes from as a result. This would allow them to want to find happiness that can only be found through obedience to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Commandments. I am grateful for what the Spirit taught me as a result of that lesson. We invited Lisa to be baptized, but she doesn't feel ready, unfortunately. We will still utilize the scriptures as much as possible to teach her, and help her grow in her Faith. 

Though we reside in Oakland, we hardly spent any time there this week. We were busy contacting potentials and tracting all across the neighboring cities in our area: Walnut Creek, Concord, Martinez, and Pleasant Hill to name a few. Its been a busy week of finding for Elder Carns and I, but I have found it to be more enjoyable than I have in the past. I've come to the conclusion that attitude is everything. Changing my perspective has helped me to be more willing and even excited to get out and find. Of course, some days are better than others, but we are trying. 

I also had the great opportunity to return to visit my first area on my mission, in order to give a baptismal interview to a Chinese man there. It was such a great experience reuniting with the Union City 3rd Branch members. It was very special, and I felt like I was coming home. I am grateful for the lasting relationships that we can have, and that those relationships are strengthened as a result of the Gospel. 

I am grateful to have spent another week as a Missionary. I am grateful to have support from people like you. I am grateful for my loving Heavenly Father. I know He lives, and that His Son died for me. This Gospel is SO true!

Have an amazing week, and shoot a prayer or two up for Aris if you can! We will need heaven's blessings coming up!

谢谢! 我爱你们!

Elder Butters/包长老

Photos From Sick Bay

Elder Cairns and Benjamin were able to "sneak" into an apartment complex with grand security measures. They photographed the moment so it would not be forgotten.

After that sneaky entrance, Elder Cairns was bed-ridden for the rest of the week with a terrible stomach bug.  Leaving Benjamin to figure out how to spend the week "alone" with only his thoughts and his paperwork to keep him company....

Time passes so slowly when you are trapped.....

The company of paperwork was enough to nearly send this missionary over the edge - but he kept his wits about him and studied, studied, studied until Elder Cairns appeared to be coming back to life for the coming week!

Letter 75 - Sickness is for No One!

你们好! 

This morning's letter comes to you all from a rainy and cold Oakland. This has been the standard for a week with lots of ups, downs, and in betweens. 

As you could probably tell from the title, we unfortunately haven't been able to do much this week...Elder Carns caught a bad stomach bug and was in bed for the majority of Thursday and all of Friday. It was a challenge to stay busy and find things to do with a sick companion, but luckily, other missionaries in our Zone came to the rescue to help me go and teach lessons and give interviews and all that jazz. Elder Carns is feeling better now, so we are hoping that we are able to be more out and about this week. 

We did get the chance to teach Aris this week, and he is doing fantastic! I went on Splits with Elder Park to go teach him, and we had a great lesson reviewing the importance of the Restoration to the Priesthood. It's crucial to understand that not only was the church restored, but also necessary Priesthood power. Aris had a question about giving blessings. Aris committed himself to prepare to receive the Aaronic Priesthood after he is baptized. He is one of those people that as a Missionary, you think is too good to be true. It's incredible to see how prepared some of the "elect children of God" are to receive the Gospel. 

No big news from Lisa Sun this week. She has made quite the name for herself in the Berkeley Ward, and English Ward that meets just down the street from her home. She attended their meetings this past week, and even signed up to bring food to upcoming Ward events. She is living the social aspect of the Gospel, but we feel is lacking somewhat when it comes to her testimony and spirituality. Prayers for her to decide to attend the Chinese Branch would be most welcome! 

We haven't been able to do much finding this past week, but I was able to spend a lot of time uploading paper records to their new place in Area Book Planner. I also had some extra time to study. I was able to finish the Book "Our Heritage" this past week, and it definitely solidified my testimony in living Prophets. Our church is truly led by men of God, and their words speak to my heart. I am grateful for the incredible men the Lord chooses to work as His servants. I also found a lot of insight in Ether 6. Though we may be tossed on the waves of life, like the Jaredites were in their ships, we can find peace in knowing that as we rely on the Lord, regardless of what situation we are in, our ship is always being 

guided toward the Promised Land. 

I am grateful that this next week will be prospectively more active than the last. I am grateful for the work and for the chance I have to play a part in it. I am grateful for all of you and your support and prayers. I love you all. Have an amazing week! 

我信赖基督! 

Elder Butters/包长老

Photos from Oakland

Only real men can knock doors on Manville Avenue!

Getting blood pressure readings done at the pharmacy!

This one is for "the boys" back home - they have always known it was true!

A rainy day for this duo - good friends and great companions!

Photos From General Conference Week

Benjamin has been serving a blind man in their area who is writing a book on education. Benjamin helps to type the transcript for this man.  Looking for a secretary?

Af

No one had dinner plans after Conference so Benjamin's apartment of Chinese elders invited the whole gang over for pancakes and French toast! What a guy!

Sports Day for P Day this week - Benjamin has learned to adapt to so many things!

Every session of Conference was watched by the missionaries in the Visitor's Center at the Oakland Temple.  Great memories!  These are the Cambodian Elders that Benjamin and Elder Cairns work with.

Letter 73: Service and General Conference

各位朋友和家庭、好!

复活节快乐!

This has been a fairly decent week for us, mostly full of the mundane tasks that make up our missionary work. It was nice and there were definite miracles along the way.

By way of investigators, Aris was out of town this week for Spring Break, so we were unable to meet with him for a lesson. However, we did get the chance to meet with Lisa, the elderly woman who has seen missionaries for a while now. We were able to get to know her a little better over a lunch appointment, and we also had the chance to talk about Easter and Conference this weekend with her. We left a little disappointed because the actual teaching portion of our meeting didn't go as planned... However, during the weekend we come to find out that she loved General Conference! Throughout the past two days, she's been sending us pictures of her computer monitor with a session playing. It was great, and the perfect conference for her to be apart of.

Speaking of General Conference, wasn't it AMAZING!? Holy cow, it was powerful and motivating and all-around very enlightening. It was a HUGE testament to me that the Lord does indeed communicate through His chosen servants, and that He is hastening his work. I am grateful to be apart of that effort right now, and also for the inspiration I received. I don't think I've left a General Conference feeling more hopeful and spiritually impacted than this one. I am grateful that we as a church are focusing much more on pure religion rather than just "checking the box," which is a trap I definitely fall into sometimes. While in Oakland, I've learned that I should do better at loving others and viewing them the way Christ does, which, if we all do, will enable us to know their true needs and how best We can serve them. I think its a lesson the Lord is trying to teach all of the members of His church right now, but that had special significance to me. We watched all five sessions in the Visitors Center next to the Oakland Temple, which was really fun! A memorable weekend for sure. 

In other news, we've had a good week of doing service for both our members and people in our community alike. We also went teaching in some of the more wealthier parts of our Area, and as you can imagine, that was pretty interesting... We also held our first institute class online via a video hangout chat, which was pretty interesting. Once our members figure out how to use the technology, it should be a good thing. We also celebrated Easter in style, but having a bunch of elders over and all having breakfast for dinner together. Good memories.

The church is SO TRUE! We are led by men who God Himself has chosen, and they preach his word. I was proud to stand in the Solemn Assembly this weekend and raise my hand to sustain Him. The future seems very bright in the Lord's church. I know Christ lives, and that He rose from the dead so that I can rise as well. I am eternally grateful for Him.

Happy Easter to you all!

Elder Butters/包长老